The invention relates to the lining of bodily stents.
Angioplasty, which involves the insertion of a catheter, e.g., a balloon catheter, into a blood vessel to expand an occluded region of the blood vessel, is frequently used to treat arteriosclerosis. Restenosis, or closing of the vessel, is a process that may occur following angioplasty. This process may be characterized by the proliferation of smooth muscle cells stimulated by the angioplasty treatment. Restenosis may also occur as a result of clot formation following angioplasty, due to injury to the vessel wall which triggers the natural clot-forming cascade of the blood.
A number of different approaches have been taken to prevent post-angioplasty vessel reclosure. One such approach has been the placement of a medical prosthesis, e.g., an intravascular metal stent, to mechanically keep the lumen open. For example, an intravascular stent made of an expandable stainless steel wire mesh tube has been used to prevent post angioplasty restenosis and vessel reclosure. The stent may be formed of wire configured into a tube and is usually delivered into the body lumen using a catheter. The catheter carries the prosthesis in a reduced-size form to the desired site. When the desired location is reached, the prothesis is released from the catheter and expanded so that it engages the lumen wall. Stents are typically fabricated from metals, alloys, or plastics and remain in the blood vessel indefinitely.